Many types of tele-operated robots and vehicles are well known in the art. These include wheeled robots, tracked robots, humanoid robots, robotic manipulators and complex mobility systems. One such wheeled/tracked robot is an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (“UGV”).
UGVs are motorized vehicles that operate without an on-board human presence. Remotely-controlled and remotely-guided unmanned vehicles (such as UGVs) are in widespread use in applications such as Explosive Ordinance Disposal (“EOD”), search and rescue operations, hazardous material disposal, surveillance, etc. A typical UGV includes a chassis, wheels, drive motors mounted on the chassis, an articulating arm mounted on top of the chassis, grippers and a camera mounted on the arm or chassis. UGVs can also be equipped with steerable front wheels to facilitate directional control. Alternatively, UGVs can include tracks that facilitate operation over rough terrain. Steering of tracked UGVs can be effectuated by simultaneously operating the wheels or tracks on opposite sides of the UGV.
Movement and steering of a UGV can be controlled by a user from a location remote from the UGV using a joystick-equipped control unit. The control unit communicates with the UGV by way of a wireless communication link. The control unit may also be used to remotely control the UGV's robotic arm, gripper and camera. Movement of the UGV is typically controlled by modulating the velocity of the UGV in proportion to the displacement of the joystick of the control unit.
In some scenarios, a visual rendering of the UGV (e.g., a computer aided design model) is displayed to the user via a display screen of the control unit for purposes of assisting the user in controlling the UGV. A 2D or 3D model of the UGV is typically rendered using a single fixed perspective view thereof (e.g., a top, front, back or side perspective view). Multiple fixed perspective view renderings of the UGV may be simultaneously displayed in different areas of the display screen. The fixed perspective view(s) that is(are) to be used may be user-selectable. In other scenarios, the perspective view remains fixed about a yaw axis with the UGV orientation changing about another axes. Such rendering approaches provide a sub-optimal perspective view of the UGV on a display screen, which may require a user to periodically cease controlling the UGV for purposes of adjusting the fixed perspective view being used to visually render the UGV.